Marvel has announced a bumper crop of 10 new superhero movies at Comic Con, the world’s largest pop-culture fan convention in San Diego.
Details of Marvel’s so-called “Phase 4” have also raised hopes about a real step forward for diversity in Hollywood.
The next stage of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will feature its first deaf superhero, its first Asian-American superhero and an openly gay superhero, it was a clear demonstration of a more diverse future for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and perhaps Hollywood overall.
It will also see more women than ever taking the directorial reins.
“Marvel are trying to strive for diversity in a way that doesn’t feel forced,” presenter and Marvel fan Claire Lim tells BBC News. “They’re just trying to represent what we see on the streets.”
Some cynics have accused the studio of only improving representation after 2018’s Black Panther became a blockbuster hit, however.
Black Panther did so well because people were finally seeing themselves on film,” Claire Lim said.
“There’s a generation who don’t want to see the same thing. It’s boring to see the same thing. And every generation demands change.”
